Jazz in Rome: clubs and other venues in the Monti neighbourhood
Jazz in Rome: clubs and other venues in the Monti neighbourhood and surroundings
The jazz scene in Rome never sleeps. If you’ve chosen the centre of the city as your base, here you can find a list of events and jazz clubs in Rome near the Monti neighbourhood. Have you ever thought of a romantic dinner by candlelight on a vintage tram that crosses the capital while a jazz band plays live right next to you? Or would you prefer a glass of whiskey in an intimate setting with a saxophone playing in the background?
Jazz lovers in Rome: where can one listen to jazz music in Rome?
It can’t be denied that in music there has always been a good-natured divide, full of contaminations and contradictions. The world of the people who truly love music and cultivate it, take interest, research, read and above all regularly listen to it, is itself divided into two groups: the true fanatics and the less enthusiastic casual listeners. Jazzophiles are the entomologists of music. They have a strong inclination toward collecting vinyls that is not the same as to actually putting yourself out there and going to places where the music is not only live, but also alive. Best of all are the jazz clubs. Rome has a vast panorama of jazz clubs, it’s a scene that never sleeps. Let’s discover together where to find live jazz in the Monti neighbourhood in Rome.
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The 2500 years of history of the Monti neighbourhood, Rome
The best events, venues and jazz clubs in the Monti neighbourhood
If you were to list and describe all of the roman jazz clubs, you would still be doing it late into the night. But that is exactly when the jazz scene is most alive. Let’s take a look at some of the jazz clubs, bars and venues near the Monti neighbourhood in Rome, that also serve, of course, excellent food.
Charity Cafè: new perspectives for roman jazz and a selection of whiskeys
10 minutes away on foot from San Martino ai Monti, in the heart of the neighbourhood, you will find the Charity Cafè, in Via Panisperna 68, that has only recently been reopened. You won’t need any entrance tickets, only buy drink. It’s a great chance for you to listen to the next big things in roman jazz. You won’t have a table to dine at but will enjoy a more informal setting. Excellent aperitifs and a very capable barman. They have a remarkable selection of whiskeys for the lovers of this spirit that perfectly accompany the mellow tones of a sax.
It has become a twenty-year old touchstone in the centre of Rome for jazz lovers. Wednesdays and Saturdays are blues night and Sundays, starting from October, are for aperitifs with live music.
Gregory’s Jazz Club and Jazz By The River: from jam-sessions in the centre to concerts on the Tiber
Italian and foreign guests have been going to the Gregory’s Jazz Club in Via Gregoriana 54/a, since its opening in 1996. During the summer this club organises the event “Jazz By The River”, in an incredible location by the Tiber underneath Ponte Sant’Angelo. Here you will enjoy delicious Japanese meals, perfect for hot summer nights in Rome, with sushi and tempura. And naturally music, with two concerts a day up until September: first will be the early sessions, where musicians have fun with riffs and improvisations; after that, two hours of live concert.
Don’t worry, when summer ends you won’t be missing anything. After Jazz By The River, Gregory’s Jazz Club will reopen. From Tony Scott to Roberto Gatto, respected names have crossed the threshold of this roman jazz club. The atmosphere recalls that of a traditional jazz club: sofas, small hidden corners, low lights, mirror walls, wooden furniture and black and white photographs as decorations. The food is high quality and suitable for vegetarians. Here you will also find a vast selection of 150 whiskey brands, as well as draft beers and cocktails.
Music from lunch to dinner at the Ballad Cafè and a jazz night tour on a vintage tram
The Ballad Cafè is both a prestigious restaurant and a jazz club, run by the chef Andrea Zerilli. It’s twenty minutes away from the Monti neighbourhood, in the area of San Lorenzo near Porta Maggiore (Via Porta Labicana 52). Their jazz set list includes both national and international guests; the concerts, from Tuesday to Sunday, start at 10 p.m., and are only one of the many ways you can enjoy your time in this cafè, open from lunchtime until late into the night. If you find yourself stuck in the rain, the Ballad Cafè offers delicious sweets and good tea in the Salotto Ottocento, accompanied by live lyrical music performances. Nunzia Fiorini, the mind of the Ballad Cafè, also organises original dinner & jazz tours around the city on the Tramjazz. The soundtrack of this incredible night tour to visit Rome in a whole new way will be paired with a candlelit dinner of regional cuisine on a vintage 1940’s tram. The band will play at the centre of the compartment on a rotating stage.
The tour sets off from Piazza Maggiore and ends right in front of the Colosseum. You’ll return to Monti drunk on jazz and the summer breeze, ready to continue dreaming, this time with your eyes closed.
Music from lunch to dinner, a night tour in the heart of Rome with a live jazz band, intimate jazz clubs, vast selections of whiskeys, concerts by the river and both national and international guests. So, jazz lovers, is the roman jazz scene enough for you?
